Wayne and Mandy Allen                          

Owners Wayne and Mandy Allen are two Kiwis with a huge passion and are determined to bring their vision to Whitford and the rest of New Zealand.

Mandy and I are both born and bred Kiwis. I’m from Tauranga, where my parents owned an orchard, and Mandy is from Dargaville. We moved to Auckland to find work, where I pursued a career as a property developer, while Mandy enjoyed a variety of administration work.

After time in the big city, we both felt drawn back to a more rural setting. The village atmosphere of Whitford in particular had just what we wanted.

At Turanga Creek Mandy and I are keen to recreate the look and feel of Bordeaux and the Esk Valley in the Hawke’s Bay, which really sparked our imagination – we think its fabulous how the vines come right down to the roadside.

We bought the 24 ha property at Turanga Creek as a run-down horse stud, where it remained for 16 years and was initially leased to various horse farmers. Over the past 6 years we have embarked on a full-scale redevelopment on the entire property – which basically means we started from scratch!

Today, the project is in full swing and coming together beautifully. When people ask me what’s behind our reason for creating Turanga Creek, I simply say, it’s the pure joy of creating something. That really is hard to beat.

Whitford is home to Mandy and I and our three children, and soon it’ll be where countless Kiwis and visitors can spend a great time in the country, enjoying the most exquisite food and world-class wine.